Hikigaya had never felt so bored staying at school before; this sense of boredom even surpassed what he experienced before crossing over.
All day long, his mind was filled with that one word.
Taphosiris.
What kind of place was that exactly? Ah, he was so curious!
As soon as Hikigaya got ho, he went straight into his room, turned on his computer, and kept searching for the term. Unfortunately, he couldn't seem to find anything.
This left him very disappointed—he had thought the internet was all-powerful.
So, he started flipping through books. After crossing over, he had collected many books on ancient history. Ancient Egypt, as a world-renowned ancient civilization, had a strong presence. Thanks to its fa, there were tons of books to consult.
Encouraged by a passion he hadn't felt in a long ti, Hikigaya finally found what he was looking for.
Taphosiris, transliterated phonetically, but the aning was far grander—
The Tomb of Osiris.
As the world's first slave-owning empire, the religion of the ancient Egyptians was also among the oldest. Though Egyptian mythology wasn't as widely known in later tis as Greek mythology, so of its nas had still spread broadly.
Osiris was undoubtedly one of them.
The story of Osiris, Isis, and Set—this family drama—was a major part of Egyptian mythology.
After all, the plot of killing a brother and taking his wife was the kind of story that the gentlen of later generations loved to hear.
Ancient Egypt was once the brightest jewel in the diterranean region—advanced in civilization and mighty in military strength. All of this was founded on the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.
In that distant age, the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt brought long-awaited peace to the ancient Egyptians. The great god Osiris, who represented agriculture and civilization, rose to prominence.
This newly-risen god was anything but modest. His rapid ascent shook the status of many of the older gods. A pri example was Set, the god symbolizing destruction and savagery. Set was an ancient deity who had been worshiped by the people of Lower Egypt since as early as the First Dynasty, around 4000 BCE.
The outco could clearly be seen through mythology—the cult of Osiris ultimately triumphed.
And what remained were spectacular stories like Set killing and dismbering Osiris, only for Osiris to be protected and forcibly resurrected in various ways...
This story undoubtedly touched the hearts of ancient Egyptian readers deeply. The place where Osiris was buried in the human world beca one of the most hotly discussed topics among the Egyptian populace. Taphosiris was one of the places believed to be Osiris's burial site.
Actually, there were two places known as Taphosiris—one northwest of Alexandria, near the sea; the other southwest of Alexandria, inland. Because Miura's information was limited, Hikigaya couldn't determine which Taphosiris, the ceramic jar, ca from.
Of course, he didn't feel disappointed by this. He understood very well that being able to find so much in such a short ti ant he was already quite lucky.
Now that he had a direction, this ceramic jar would surely satisfy his curiosity for a long ti and bring him lots of joy.
.
.
.
anwhile, at almost the sa mont, in another corner of the world, a group of people were feeling entirely different emotions for the sa reason.
On the land of Egypt, in a small town called Dios (Dioket), a very discordant scene was unfolding.
The location: a small local inn.
"Where is it?" A man dressed in the typical garb of an Arab, wrapped tightly from head to toe with only his eyes and nose exposed, sat in a chair. His eyes were filled with fury.
He was addressing a woman who was sprawled on the ground. Several n dressed like him stood nearby.
Her prostration was clearly not out of respect, but purely due to violent oppression—because the woman's body was clearly covered in bruises.
"..."
The woman didn't speak. Maybe she had no strength left, or maybe she simply didn't want to answer these thugs.
"Eastern woman, don't try to provoke . And don't hope that anyone will co to save you." The man sneered in a low voice. "When your companions died, you should have known—you all touched what you shouldn't have touched and entered where you shouldn't have entered."
"Speak up and you can leave. I have no interest in soone ordinary like you." Suddenly, the man's tone turned gentle. "You should treasure your life."
"Leave?" The woman finally spoke. "You'll let leave? Don't joke with . I don't know what's going on, but you definitely killed people. You're terrorists, aren't you?"
After exchanging glances, the others in the room chuckled coldly.
"Terrorists? That's a pretty good joke—but it doesn't matter. What matters is…" The man stood up from the chair and walked up to the woman. "The only reason you even have this chance is because your companions accidentally got all killed. Now, tell what I need to know, and we'll let you go. It's that simple."
"But I really don't know what you're talking about…" The woman showed fear as the man approached. "Who… what exactly are you people…"
"Seems you couldn't accept what you saw, huh… Heh… After all, you're just a petty thief. Fine, I'll tell you—we're looking for a ceramic jar. You couldn't possibly have forgotten it. All the other things you took from the tomb added together can't match its value."
"Ceramic jar?" The woman looked as though she was trying to rember—then her expression changed.
"Looks like you rembered," the man sneered. "To dare steal a sacred relic of our ancestors—such a sin is unforgivable. But if you confess honestly, forgiveness isn't out of the question."
"I… I didn't know it was sothing so important…" The woman trembled, enduring the pain all over her body.
This man was terrifying. She couldn't understand what was happening, but the scenes of her companions being killed were still vividly imprinted in her mind.
It was too horrifying. She had already mailed the item back to Japan.
And she had mailed it to the neighbor's kid.
Just thinking of this made her feel even more terrified.
"You don't need to know so much. Fine, I'll ask one last ti—where is it?"
The man seed to be running out of patience. He extended a finger and gently ran it down the woman's face. A rustling sound, like insects buzzing, ca faintly from within his robes.
Upon hearing this sound, the woman's pupils dilated in fear.
"Japan! Chiba! I gave it to my neighbor's daughter!" she scread.
Crack!
The man crushed her throat.
"I forgive you."
He said this softly, then turned to his subordinates.
"You all heard it. Go prepare."
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